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Talking Time Kneels Between Mountains on the Yellow Shelf Podcast. In a town where survival is a daily battle, there are those who seek justice... Overnight, Seka Torlak's life as a regular teenager is upended as Srebrenica, her once peaceful town, falls under siege and she faces starvation, shelling, and sniper attacks. When desperately needed antibiotics and food disappear and are sold on the black market, Seka vows to investigate the corruption and bring the culprits to justice. As the war ravages Srebrenica, Seka's resilience is tested as she navigates loss, fear, and the harsh realities of war. Yet, amidst the devastation, she finds a glimmer of hope as her relationship with Ramo blossoms from friendship to love. But as she fights for justice and love, will Seka triumph, or will the brutal war tear everything she holds dear apart?
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So happy to have appeared on The Balkan Forum podcast talking about Time Kneels Between Mountains. In this conversation, Amra discusses her novel Time Kneels Between Mountains, which explores the years leading up to the Srebrenica genocide through the eyes of a teenage girl. The narrative confronts war, injustice, and the fragile threads of humanity. Amra explains that the book began as part of her PhD in creative writing and gradually expanded, from a few planned flashbacks into a full novel, honoring the stories of those who survived the siege with remarkable resilience and endurance. Just returned from the cinema where I watched Dead of Winter with Emma Thompson and it was sublime. Highly recommend you go watch it. "Emma Thompson does not disappoint. Her every movie is a gem, and this one is perfect on every level. A woman travels to a lake to complete a pilgrimage for a loved one, only to uncover a crime. The tension is perfect, and the story development is perfect as we learn about what brought her to the lake, while she fights the baddies. So perfect!"  I’ve officially lost my mind again — I’m writing the fifth novel in my Seka Torlak series, and I’m giving myself 60 days to get the first draft down. That’s 1,000 words a day, every day, no excuses, no “but I’m tired,” no “but the cat looked at me weird.” And because accountability works best when you embarrass yourself publicly, I’ll be documenting the entire messy, exhilarating, occasionally unhinged process on Substack. If you’ve ever wondered what it actually looks like to draft a book — the good days, the flat-line days, the “why did I choose this career” days — come along for the ride. I’ll be sharing: Daily word-count check-ins Behind-the-scenes chaos from the Seka Torlak universe Craft notes, research tidbits, and the emotional gymnastics of writing historical-crime fiction What’s working, what’s flopping, and the tricks I use to keep going even when my brain wants to bail Lessons I’m learning in real time about discipline, voice, creativity, and building a long-form project without losing the plot (literally) If you’re a writer, you’ll pick up tools. If you’re a reader of the series, you’ll get a front-row seat to the next instalment. If you’re just here for the drama… you will not be disappointed. I’d love for you to follow along, cheer me on, poke me when I slack off, and be part of the community that makes these books possible. Subscribe now and let’s see what 60 days of focused chaos can create. I promise it’ll be honest, occasionally chaotic, and absolutely worth watching. https://open.substack.com/pub/amrasarmchairanecdotes/p/write-a-novel-with-me-day-1-update?r=i0jxk&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true  Big news, friends — Time Kneels Between Mountains has been featured in Lifestyle News. 🎉 It’s a strange feeling seeing a book born from seven years of research and heartbreak land in a mainstream publication, but here we are. Huge thanks to my powerhouse publicist Nicole Webb who keeps kicking down doors I didn’t even know were there. https://www.lifestylenews.com.au/post/time-kneels-between-mountains-a-novel-that-confronts-a-dark-chapter-with-courage-and-heart If you want to read the full piece, the link is in my Linktree bio. And while you’re there… a gentle-but-not-really-gentle reminder: 📚 Both Book 1 and Book 2 (Ghosts Among the Gumtrees) are available right now in my live Kickstarter. If you’ve been meaning to grab them, back the campaign and help me grow this series from the ground up. Doing this indie means every reader matters. Every backer matters. And every share matters. ❤️
It’s official — Ghosts Among the Gumtrees is LIVE on Kickstarter! 🎉🔥 Book 2 in the Seka Torlak Historical Crime Mystery Series is out in the world, and I’m so excited (and honestly a bit nervous) to finally share it with you. If you loved Time Kneels Between Mountains, this is the next step in Seka’s journey: Australia, 1997. A new life. New dangers. And a war criminal hiding in plain sight. This is a story about justice, trauma, denial, and what happens when the past refuses to stay buried. By backing the Kickstarter, you’ll get: ✔️ Early-release ebook or paperback ✔️ A brand-new companion short story, Zora’s Story ✔️ A bonus essay about war criminals who fled to Australia ✔️ Updates, behind-the-scenes insights, and all the things I can’t squeeze into social posts Kickstarter is how I grow this series, build my audience, and stay connected to readers who care about survivor-centred storytelling. Your support — even just sharing the link — genuinely means everything. 👉 Back the campaign here: amrapajalic.com/ghosts Let’s bring Book 2 into the world together. 💜 I’m thrilled to share that I was on ABC Radio’s Nightlife — discussing the three books that inspired Time Kneels Between Mountains. 🎙️✍️ Books That Made Me — and Shaped Time Kneels Between Mountains Every novel has its ancestors, and these three books carved the emotional backbone of Time Kneels Between Mountains. 📘 Surviving the Bosnian Genocide — Selma Leydesdorff A tapestry of real women’s testimonies. Their strength, their grief, their fight for justice — it taught me how storytelling becomes resistance when systems fail. Their everyday survival shaped how I wrote Seka’s world. 📙 Postcards from the Grave — Emir Suljagić A survivor writing from inside Srebrenica. His honesty about youth, rage, resilience, and moral responsibility grounded my work. He showed me how to balance fact, emotion, and witness — and how young people still found ways to live amid siege. 📕 My Brilliant Friend — Elena Ferrante Female friendships, class tensions, and the small rituals that make a world feel real. Ferrante reminded me that intimate stories are history. She also inspired my character index and the detailed reconstruction of everyday life in Srebrenica. All three books helped me build a story that honours memory, captures the resilience of youth, and restores moral order when the world falls apart. Listen here: https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/nightlife/the-writers-amra-pajalic/106080866 Or in my Linktree If you’ve read any of these, I’d love to hear what they meant to you. 📚💛
I’ve made myself a promise—and I’m following through on it. I’m running a Kickstarter for the next book in my Seka Torlak historical crime series. Not because it’s easy (it’s not), but because it pushes me to grow, to back myself, and to connect directly with readers who actually care about these stories. So… Book 2, Ghosts Among the Gumtrees, launches on Kickstarter on 1 December. 🎉 I’ve just opened the pre-launch page, and it would mean the world if you clicked “Notify me on launch.” This isn’t just about selling books. It’s about building an audience, step by step. It’s about carving out new opportunities that traditional publishing never handed me. It’s about finding readers who want survivor-centred historical fiction, who value the truth behind the stories, who want to walk with Seka through the aftermath of war and witness her fight for justice. I’m hoping each Kickstarter brings in new readers, new conversations, and new doors opening—and if it grows slowly, steadily, beautifully over the years, that’s exactly the kind of career I want. If you’ve supported me before: thank you. Truly. If you’re new here: welcome. 👉 Follow the pre-launch page: https://www.amrapajalic.com/ghosts Let’s do this. One book, one campaign, one community at a time. 💜  Massive thank you to Réka and Harriet for having me on Your Planet Needs You on 94.1FM. Loved our chat about why stories matter, how to call out injustice, and why elevating unheard voices isn’t just creative work — it’s political work. They’ve kindly shared the recording, so if you missed it live, you can catch the interview on my YouTube and Substack. We get into books, justice, the oddball twists in my career, Time Kneels Between Mountains, and the ongoing fight against genocide denial. Honestly, one of my favourite conversations this year. They have a show every Sunday 3-4 on https://www.3wbc.org.au/ so tune in. Today I talk to my best friend, Veronica Ho and as two longtime friends we trace a candid path from quiet teen years to midlife strength, exploring how weightlifting became therapy, why boundaries matter, and how perimenopause reshapes health goals. We share the unglamorous prep, the cost, the mindset shifts, and the power of saying no. • early body image and being a confidant • why lifting started and what changed • training stats, body composition, and safety • food prep, budgets, and time protection • stage experiences and doing it in her forties • attention, projection, and dressing for self • gym as therapy and routine under stress • perimenopause, bone health, and recovery • realistic goals, reasons why, and setbacks • boundaries that signal commitment to self Subscribe and follow for more inside stories and inspiration https://www.amrapajalic.com/veronica-ho.html  |
AuthorAmra Pajalić is an award-winning author, an editor and teacher who draws on her Bosnian cultural heritage to write own voices stories for young people, who like her, are searching to mediate their identity and take pride in their diverse culture. She writes memoir, young adult and romance under the pen name Mae Archer. newsletterSign up and receive free books.
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